The following characters are copyrighted © by me and cannot be used without my permission:  Luca, Autumn, Taluas, Shadow, Christa, Tara, Malik, Chameal (kuh-meel). The following characters are copyrighted © by Universal Studios: Aniu, Doc, Balto, Jenna, Steele

Chapter 1

“Get out you lousy dog!” a musher yelled as a tan and white husky ran out the door, his tail between his legs.  “This is the last time you lose a race!”

            The husky ran into the woods nearby until he was well out of distance of his owner and lay down in the snow.  He glanced back and sighed.  He had only lost two races and yet the human was making a big deal out of it.  It’s not like I didn’t try! he thought.  Getting up, he walked deeper into the woods looking for tracks and sniffing the air.

            “Come on!” he said to himself.  “Where are you?”

            No sooner had he said it, and a great white she-wolf walked out from behind a tree.

            “Aniu,” he said, relieved.  “I thought the people might have found you and…”

            “You don’t have to worry about me, Luca,” Aniu said.  “I’m a wolf, so I’m used to it.”

            Luca looked lovingly at the white she-wolf, glad she was alright.  He had known her for almost six months when he had been wandering around the woods to get away from town life for a while.

            “What are you doing out here at this time?” Aniu asked, looking quizzically at Luca.

            The husky looked down.  “My owner chased me out of the house.  I don’t think he wants me anymore.”

            Aniu walked over to him and put her head over his.  “Your owner is a jerk, then.”

            Luca smiled.  “If you say so.”

            The she-wolf smirked.  “I do.”

            Just then, he pulled away.  “Where am I going to stay, though?  I can’t go back.”

            Aniu just looked at him.  “Well, that is a dumb question.  You can stay with me.  I have no pack, and I get lonely out here all by myself.”

            Luca smiled once more.  “I guess I will stay, then.”

Chapter 2

            It had been two weeks since Luca had decided to stay with Aniu; and in that time, they had become much more than friends.  The two spent every minute together.  Aniu had even taught Luca how to hunt small animals like rabbits.  He was getting good at it, too.

            “You’re almost there,” Aniu told him.  “Just stay downwind from them at all times and stay as quite as possible and you will almost be as good as me.”

            Luca smiled at the compliment.  “Thank you,” he said.  “And the only reason I’m as good as I am is because I have you as a teacher.”

            The she-wolf smiled as he walked up to her and gently licked her on her muzzle.  As he pulled back, she looked at him with wide eyes.  Never before had he done that before!  She smiled and licked him back.

            “I love you,” Aniu said quietly.

            Luca’s head shoot back.  “What?”

            “What did I say?”

            “You said you love me.”

            Aniu looked at the ground, embarrassed.  “Did I, really?”

            Luca nodded.  “You did,” he said.  “But, I love you, too.”

            The she-wolf looked into his eyes and saw that he truly did.  It was impossible to hide.  They were just about to lick again when Aniu pulled out.

            “What if your brother finds out?”

            “So what if he does,” Luca said.  “It’s not like he can do anything about it.  He hates wolves, remember.  Taluas doesn’t even go into the woods.”

            “If you say so,” Aniu smiled and allowed Luca to lick her once again.

            The two wandered off into the woods with the moon rising behind them.  It was a very peaceful night.  The world was silent.  There wasn’t any wind blowing.  Not even the family of owls was out yet. 

            Luca looked at Aniu in a new light.  The way the moonlight was reflecting off of her was just enchanting.  She looked almost…spirit-like.

            “What?” she asked when she saw Luca looking at her.

            “Oh,” he said, “nothing.”

            She smiled and bound forward in the snow.

            “What are you doing?” Luca laughed.

            Aniu smiled.  “Running!  Come join me!”

            Luca smiled as he took off after Aniu.  They ran side-by-side for what seemed like hours enjoying the crisp night air.  After about a mile, they stopped, out of breath.  Aniu lowered herself to the ground, beckoning Luca to lie next to her.

            “This was one of the best nights of my life,” Luca told her, laying his head on her neck.  “I would have never had that much fun if I had stayed with my owner.”

            “I’m glad that you decided to stay out here with me,” Aniu said, her eyes sparkling in the moonlight.

            They laid there for a while longer, and then the wind started to blow hard. 

            “Let’s go find a cave,” Luca said as he felt a shiver go up Aniu’s spine.

            She nodded reluctantly and led him to a den she had found a few months ago.  The two went into the cave and soon, a new life was growing inside Aniu’s belly.

Chapter 3

            Luca and Aniu woke up to a foot of fresh snow glittering in the sunlight.

            “It’s beautiful,” Aniu said, looking out across the land.

            “Yeah,” Luca replied, looking at Aniu, “beautiful.  Absolutely beautiful.”

            The she-wolf smiled.  “Luca, I know you’re looking at me.”

            Luca smiled.  “And that is a bad thing?”

            Aniu smiled and shook her head.  She loved Luca and he loved her.  That went without question.  She could tell how he felt about her by the way he looked at her with such passion and caring.  He, too, could tell that she loved him by the way she watched him as he chased a rabbit and carried it back proudly in his mouth.  No longer was he a normal husky.  The wild had taken over. 

            Suddenly, Aniu broke the silence.  “What if your owner tries to find you?”

            Luca looked at her.  “I don’t care about him.  The only thing I care about is you.  You and only you.”

            The she-wolf smiled, reassured.  She knew that he would never leave her.  That would be unthinkable:  especially now that she would be having his puppies. 

            The two sat at the den entrance for a while longer, then ventured out into the snow, feeling